Toy Talk Thursday: Monster Ties

It’s our first Toy Talk Thursday! As announced last weekend, each Thursday OuTcomes Therapy will be highlighting a new toy, demonstrating a toy hack, or sharing new ways to use common toys/household items to support children’s learning and development. This week we are highlighting monster ties – yes – these are actually bag ties that you buy in the household section to seal a bag and keep items fresh. They are found in the Walmart Kitchen Utensils aisle for less than $3.00. As an occupational therapist, they are also a wonderful way to strengthen fine motor skills (e.g., support the establishment of a dominance, strengthen hands, and foster development of the tripod grasp). The children (and parents) that I work with absolutely love making the monsters stick out their tongues and playing “cat got your tongue!” I hope that you do too! Do you have a fun way to develop the three-fingered (thumb, pointer and tall man) grasp using everyday materials? If so, I would love to hear about it! Please comment below and we can develop a wonderful lists of household items used in fantastic ways!